He has not officially retired as of yet,but the amount of time he has been away from the game speaks volumes,imo. I wrote him off long ago for ever coming back,and I pretty much consider him done and dusted.

And I'm not so sure it's that big of a loss for the game. Tennis will survive without Nadal on the tour.

Although I'm not a big fan of the guy I do appreciate what he brings to the game I'd be very sad to see him have to cut his career short. However, I haven't seen or heard any rumors to this effect. His camp seem to be making the usual positive sounds about next year so why should we doubt that he won't turn up at the Australian Open and be a contender (if not a serious one after such a long lay off)? Sounds like smoke signals to me.

I want Nadal to come back and play a different type of tennis , attacking, short points, coming to net, Serve and volley. I want him to cross Sampras and fall short of Fed. This will further illuminate Fed career

Rafa retiring would be a big loss for tennis ... I've also never been his biggest fan (prefer Roger) but he is a true champion and a gentleman.

Anyway, let's hope the obituaries are premature. Maybe he comes back but will have to change his game a bit to make it easier on his body; great player that he is he will still be a force. Tiger had to change his swing because of a bad knee among other examples.

Rafa retiring would be a big loss for tennis ... I've also never been his biggest fan (prefer Roger) but he is a true champion and a gentleman.

Anyway, let's hope the obituaries are premature. Maybe he comes back but will have to change his game a bit to make it easier on his body; great player that he is he will still be a force. Tiger had to change his swing because of a bad knee among other examples.

I predicted Nadal will retire after French open 2013. if your injury prevents you from training, you should retire. which seems to be the case here.

never seen him so happy fishing

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I noticed this too. He is beside himself with happiness since he hasn't had to play any tennis. He has also had a taste of freedom for the first time since he was a teenager of what life can be like without a hectic tennis schedule. Even if he does come back he won't last long on the tour for that reason alone.

I noticed this too. He is beside himself with happiness since he hasn't had to play any tennis. He has also had a taste of freedom for the first time since he was a teenager of what life can be like without a hectic tennis schedule. Even if he does come back he won't last long on the tour for that reason alone.

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Same old litany of "wisdom" from our resident Rafa expert..............sweet

This just proves that Nadal's style of game is not going to last long. It's good no one else will try to emulate it as your knees will break down if you do. A cause and effect type of thing. Stop writing checks your body can't handle.

Yep tennis is actually better without Nadal. No more torture of watching a moonballer succeed. Tennis was meant to be the most skilled. Not the biggest moonballer who is crafty in stopping skill from succeeding.

I think that Nadal will not retire right now, but his career will be full of weird losses, and the fans will pull a lot of hairs rooting for him. His decline will last for 2-3 years. During that time, these boards will generally bash him, and his legacy will appear less remarkable because of serious drops in percentages, win-loss ratios, H2H records, and other parameters.

He will retire after Federer does. Fed has always been his and Toni's benchmark (but, seriously, who else can he look up to - Djokovic?).

After Nadal follows Agassi to the "Former Pro Player Talk" forum, opinions about him will start improving. People will not remember his time-wasting, bottle-lining, ***-picking, strategic MTOs. His results will remain. His clay legacy will remain. He will be viewed as one of tennis legends for generations to come. His Rosol moment will be his Bastl moment - those only add funny tidbits to the overall story.

Oh, don't get me wrong: he is a dirty, ugly moonballer that changed tennis for the worse. But this will be irrelevant to future fans who are not going to see him live.

I can already see Nadal winning all the titles again during the clay season and all the newspapers and tennis analysts saying what a warrior he is, what a fighter, what a heart. He's playing while injured yet clearing all the competition with ease.

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Nobody will claim heart/fighter/warrior. Why? Because clay is EASY for Nadal. Even at 50% health, it was EASY for Nadal to win 4 clay titles. That's why he's the only slam GOAT in history.

The AO has 2 leaders. Wimbledon has 2 leaders. The US Open has 3 leaders. Roland Garros is the only slam with an outright leader - Rafael Nadal 7 RG titles (and only one loss). Be grateful that there is a slam GOAT.

Nobody will claim heart/fighter/warrior. Why? Because clay is EASY for Nadal. Even at 50% health, it was EASY for Nadal to win 4 clay titles. That's why he's the only slam GOAT in history.

The AO has 2 leaders. Wimbledon has 2 leaders. The US Open has 3 leaders. Roland Garros is the only slam with an outright leader - Rafael Nadal 7 RG titles (and only one loss). Be grateful that there is a slam GOAT.